NBC Saves the Nine-Nine – But How Long For?

What a whirlwind few days it’s been for Brooklyn Nine Nine fans – the popular US sitcom, starring Andy Samberg and revolving around a bustling NYPD precinct, found itself for the chop after Fox decided it would pursue no further episodes after the end of its fifth season of episodes. That season, for the record, is the one currently airing – which is due to end this month – and fans reacted to the news that Detective Jake Peralta and co would not be returning to our screens with widespread disdain. Even some of the acting talent involved in the show got in on the action – taking to Twitter to thank fans for all of their support and to throw their weight behind what has been nothing short of a whirlwind success – that is, apparently, until recently – as ‘live’ viewing figures appeared to be causing the parent network some concern. Live figures are those attributed to people watching a show or shows as they occur – not on a recorded basis.

In what must be one of the quickest turnarounds in US TV history, fans of the comedy wouldn’t have to wait long for something to be done about the cancellation. Speculation ran rife that platforms such as Netflix or Hulu could have been ready to take up the series – with the former having resurrected Arrested Development and with the latter having brought The Mindy Project back from the dead – however, it was neither of the streaming platforms in question who would be responsible for saving the show. That mantle falls to NBC – who had initially sold the show on to Fox – who decided to resurrect the series in light of so much fan outpouring online. “Mike Schur, Dan Goor and Andy Samberg grew up on NBC, and we’re all thrilled that one of the smartest, funniest and best-cast comedies in a long time will take its place in our comedy line-up,” NBC Entertainment Robert Greenblatt said of the acquisition. Certainly, it’s a move which will go down very well with legions of fans who were concerned that they’d seen the last of the crew’s adventures.